FBI agents arrested the estranged son of a Boston police captain July 4 for allegedly planning an Islamic State-inspired attack on U.S. soil.
Alexander Ciccolo, 23, was arrested after buying four weapons from an uncover FBI informant. A search of his apartment revealed explosive material and “jihad” literature, according to ABC News.
Ciccolo’s arrest was part of the agency’s counterterrorism operation against purported Islamic State-inspired jihadis. Last week, FBI Director James B. Comey announced more than 10 suspected Islamic State supporters were arrested over the past month, several of whom may have been planning Fourth of July attacks.
According to neighbors, Ciccolo recently converted to Islam and used the pseudonym Abu Ali al-Amriki. Ciccolo, from Adams, Massachusetts, planned to attack military personnel and civilians in a different state but later decided to target university students.
Ciccolo’s father, Police Captain Robert Ciccolo, was one of the first responders to the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. “According to the FBI, the younger Ciccolo said he was ‘inspired’ by the Marathon bombing and the use of pressure cooker bombs, and told the FBI undercover operative, ‘Allahu Akbar!!! I got the pressure cooker today,'” ABC News reported.
Robert informed law enforcement his estranged son was supporting jihadi causes about a year ago.
Ciccolo praised the recent terror attack on a Tunisian beach to an FBI witness. “Awesome. Awesome, you that ah, that brother in Tunisia was impressive,” said Ciccolo, according to ABC News. (RELATED: ISIS Launches Attacks On Three Different Continents On Single Day)
After being arraigned on gun charges July 6, Ciccolo is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing in a Springfield court Tuesday.
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